Subtle Changes
by Thorius Maximus
Summary: Sometimes by making a friend one can change a lot without noticing it. - Now Beta checked.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible™ in any way or form, nor anything even the slightest related to the series. Kim Possible™ is copyrighted by Disney and entirely own by Disney.**

Author's notes: I would like to give a big thanks to Sentinel103 for his crucial contributions in checking and correcting any mistakes story and well as giving the story a better presentation, since English unfortunately is not my first language and my vocabulary is a bit limited.

I've been absent from for a lot of years, always uncertain about how to approach the few ideas I had on my mind. Ideas I may have had some of them, but I was (and still am) inexperienced when it comes to my writing style, the way I should expose those very same ideas. English unfortunately isn't my first language either, so it can also become a detrimental factor.

Nevertheless, I decided to give it a shot once more for I had some free time and after all the very reason I am writing these stories is to share the concepts I have in my mind with others in . Because of how much free time I may have can fluctuate widely I can't give any guaranties for how long I could be writing without having to interrupt nor when I could be back to complete those stories. This is why, for the moment I decided only to write a one shot concerning an idea I had on the back of my mind for quite some time. After that I can't give any guaranties that any stories I start I may be able to complete.

The following story is about something very curious in the Kim Possible universe, a very strong irony if you may call it. It's not obvious to all, but I think that with the needed deepness in the analysis it becomes visible, it's about what made Ron change so much from before meeting Kim to the Ron that we all know and what did those changes imply on him.

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><p><span>Subtle Changes<span>

The morning Sun had slowly risen across the sky until it reached the near noon position it was now, down below the city of Middleton was being basked in its rays as if signaling that a new generation of the inhabitants of Middleton were ready to face the ups and downs present throughout a lifetime of struggles and achievements. One may not normally think so, but in pre-k this perspective is already put into practice through the horrible jungle law of daytime care and that of the social order of playtime.

The building doors opened signaling that playtime had started and with it came the rush of kids towards the pre-k playing yard. Among these kids was one Ronald Stoppable, blonde, freckled and with relatively big ears he seemed to most as an ordinary boy, but inside his mind Ron Stoppable was anything but normal. His arrival at this institute had actually been relatively unceremonious, but unlike most kids who were fearful of the future he actually had some expectations for his, as in getting some friends because one of his personal quirks did not allow him to make friends and interact with children his own age very well. However, despite the frequent failures, Ron didn't care much about other people's judgments towards him.

He remembered his father's words when they left him with the school's caretaker, "_remember son, it's all about trying to make friends, once you've made that first hard step you will see how fun things will become." _

"_But how can I make friends?"_, asked a confused Ron.

"_Just be yourself son"_, his father reassured him, and with this in mind he walked towards pre-school building.

However there was a difference between wishing it and making it a reality as he would soon find out.

Young Ron Stoppable had other interests aside from making friends, the world around him interested him greatly. Not the world on a general perspective, rather, it was the minute detail that grasped his attention, how things worked, ticked, that's what interested him. Not only this, but he was conscious of moral and social concepts that escaped the other kid's grasp. He saw how they played with each other, he may not have realized his life had just begun, but to him it already seemed like a jungle out there, where every kid was fighting for him/herself with no regard for a collective order.

This merciless attitude, it frightened him and sometimes kept him awake at night.

Fortunately he wasn't completely alone, his imaginary friend Rufus had been with him for a long as he could remember, and whenever he was alone he could always turn to Rufus for comfort.

"You think I can do it Rufus?" he asked to towering shadow next to him.

"_As long as you are yourself, you will always succeed in life Ron", _the towering figure pointed towards the group of kids on the other side of the playground "_now go, your destiny awaits". _

And so he continued on his quest to find new friends, only after walking for a moment he found a group of boys playing a game that seemed like hide and seek to him, interest rose in him as this was a favorite game of his and he approached he group slowly.

"Hello. Can I play with you guys?" his voice inquired hopeful that this endeavor would work out for him for once since he uncured many setbacks in his young life in finding friends who he could relate to.

"Sure" said one of the kids, "but on one condition".

"What would that be?" Ron asked still with hope.

"That you get to seek!" said one of the kids with an evil smile.

By now Ron was uncertain of what to do.

"Can Rufus play with us?", Ron asked with a curious smile.

"Who's Rufus?" the boy asked, looking in all directions.

"Oh, he's my imaginary friend.", Ron replied his smile getting larger hoping one of the other boys would see his friend as well.

Now all the kids looked uncomfortably between one another.

"Rufus you don't mind playing with us right?" Ron asked with a smile.

"_Not at all little one, but I suggest you keep your focus towards your would-be-friends."__, the imaginary friend suggested seeming to know what was best. _

Ron then turned his head and understood why Rufus had pointed his attention towards the kids surrounding them; they were giving him unfriendly glances.

"We don't play with weirdoes, beat it you freak!" said one of the kids, his tone in Ron's mind clearly aggressive and unfriendly.

"Yeah what he said." said one kid.

"Get away from us and get your weirdness away from us as well." said another kid.

Most kids would have started to have their eyes watered down by now but Ron's response was completely unexpected, a certain number of emotions started to dwell within him, disappointment, frustration, even anger.

"You know, you're very unfair towards newcomers gentlemen. I suggest if a newcomer arrives then you should make him feel welcome, hence your group would only increase in numbers and your influence on the playground would increase as well." he spoke this with a hint of disappointment as if giving a lecture, then paused for effect as a professor would to make his 'talk' more meaningful to his students.

"Your attitude is very destructive and not constructive at all, in order to make someone feel welcome you should allow that person to hide along with the rest as well, only then are the social rules of the playground and of mutual cooperation respected." he finally finished with a hint of pride.

Ron Stoppable hoped deep down inside that these Cretans would pull themselves out of the quagmire that he knew their lives would become if they did not gain enlightenment in the not too distant future.

By now all of the other kids were looking at each other confused, as if they hadn't understood a word of what Ron had just said.

"Get away from us you freak of freaks!" said one kid.

"You're an even greater freak than we thought you were!" another kid spoke.

Ron tried slowly backed away as if to avoid the incoming storm he felt was coming his way but his cautious composure abruptly fell when a ball was thrown towards his face with all the strength a kid of his age could muster.

And the tears fell, his face was in pain and the only thought on his mind was to run away from the predatory crowd that was one step from chasing him.

"Get away from us you weirdo!"

"And never come back!"

And with that Ron quickly ran away from who he thought was the most unpleasant group in the entire playground. This new feeling of rejection was uncomfortable; he hoped he would never feel it again. Obviously he felt low, but loneliness was something he was used to, for when he thought of the world around him and of how people as a whole interacted with one another it normally implied that he would spend a great deal of time alone with only his own thoughts to contemplate with, that and with Rufus of course.

'_I thought I would at least find someone to talk to. Rufus I am so lonely to have someone my own age. It's like I'm a pigmy adult.'_ he sadly mused.

Still, despite the rejection he really didn't mind the outcome or what people thought of him, after all he just had to be himself, at least that's what both his dad and Rufus told him. And so he tried again.

Unfortunately all ended in failure, the end results were all too similar, he had been labeled a "weirdo" in the eyes of others, was it the way he talked? What he talked? Was it Rufus presence?

"Am I a freak Rufus?" he asked uncertain.

"_Nonsense young one, your mind is fertile and you're the one being honest in your approach, the way I see it there is nothing wrong with you, the fault lies in the other kids." _Rufus reassured him.

"Thanks Rufus, I can always count on you reassure me." he smiled.

"_You're welcome little Ron." _and Ron saw Rufus turn his head and followed his friend's sight, "_Here's a suggestion, how about that little girl over there?"_.

Ron then turned his attention to the girl Rufus was pointing out and saw she had auburn hair along with freckles on her face, but what was most curious was that she had a ball but no one to play with.

"You think I have a chance Rufus?" he asked uncertain.

"_Of course, there is always hope."_ and while Rufus face didn't show any noticeable change, Ron knew he had just smiled at him.

With a newfound hope Ron walked towards the girl with no companion.

"Hi, I'm Ron, Ron Stoppable" he said smiling.

"Oh, hi and I'm Kim, Kim Possible" she smiled back.

"Why don't you have someone to play with?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

She shrugged her shoulders a bit although Ron could sense some sadness, "Because they say I move too fast and jump too high to play dodge ball"

"Hum, such a dangerous and violent sport, there are better ways establish to improve relationships in this dangerous jungle world of daycare that we life in, I would never understand how social and the pecking order of human nature would tolerate such violent behavior".

After hearing what he had just said Kim gave him the usual look so many others gave, and Ron recognized that look, the look of someone who doesn't understand a world of what you just said. His expectation quickly began to sunken as he was ready to except the all too usual response, in his mind only one thought was racing through it.

'_Please don't think I'm a freak.' __Ron prayed inside._

And Kim's response didn't disappoint the young blond haired boy.

"You're weird."

Rejected, again.

"But I like you." she smiled.

'_Wait, what!' _he thought now hoping against hope not knowing his life was on the edge of a dramatic change that he could not even conceive of before this chance meeting occurred.

"_See I told you Ron, if you just be yourself you would find someone who would like you for who you are" Rufus reassured him with an all knowing smile._

"Thank you Rufus." he smiled.

"Who?" asked Kim.

"Oh Rufus, he my imaginary friend", he nodded vigorously.

"You're really weird, but I really like you." she smiled with greater emphasis this time, "Wanna play?" she asked.

"Sure."

XX

And as time passed their bond became stronger and stronger, although changes occurred in both Kim and Ron, Kim became the leader, the alpha female, she gained an ever growing taste for leadership and with it confidence and the mental flexibility of thought that comes with it, while Ron became more submissive and yet this change wasn't an immediate, but rather gradual change.

There were some awkward moments during some very early stages of their relationship that Ron still maintained that inquisitive and analytical method of thought of his, which normally would only result in Kim's momentary confusion and a temporary sense of separation between the two as if this didn't belong with them, as if it was separating them. Ron chastised himself afterwards every time he acted this way.

_"Stupid, stupid, I'm stupid! Kim will leave me if I don't change!"_ he always chided himself.

Inevitably if this friendship was to last, some changes also occurred in Ron with time, subtle but definite, Rufus became more and more absent until he disappeared without Ron noticing. To the outside observer the most noticeable change was that Ron's initiative became less visible as he let Kim handle also anything thing her way, maybe it was the fear of losing the only friend he ever made so he let things run on her terms. Another crucial, but subtle change, was along with his decrease in initiative also came a great decrease in his intellectual sharpness, most likely related to the fact that he let Kim think almost everything for him and set almost anything on her terms. Once maybe it was due to the fear to losing Kim if he opposed her will. Indeed this new Ron that was forming could be seen as the result of a forced practiced behavior and with time this behavior became a natural response to all stimuli in Ron's life, a forced and subconscious behavioral reflex of sorts.

And so with time Ron Stoppable became the Ron we all know, bar some momentary exceptions.

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><p>Authors Notes: It's true this is a children's cartoon and we shouldn't over examine this, but as adults it's kind of inevitable and logical for us to do so. If we look at the scene in a Sitch in Time we see that Ron has very developed logical and cognitive capabilities for a four year old, the jungle daycare, social order and opposable toes comments, clearly a sign of superior intelligence, in another episode Naked Genius we see him building a doomsday device accidentally but it still requires inevitably some kind logical understanding of what he's doing, finally the most glaring example of his genius intelligence is in Bad Boy and Stop Team Go, showing an excellent grasp in inventions but at strategy as well since he was one step ahead of Kim the whole time. I think this is one of the greatest ironies within the entire series. Of course that we could argue all of this is due to the "Ron Factor", but in the end, what exactly is the Ron factor, is it Ron's superior subconscious genius intelligence or simply an illogical factor the writers and the creators decided to introduce in the show to amplify that "illogical" to Ron?<p>

As for any future projects, I plan on approaching ,if possible, this very same irony concerning Ron the "Bad Boy", if anyone's interested in collaborating with me in any way or form then I would be more than grateful for any kind of help, PM me if you wish.


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